Napa Classic

Its a 2 hour flight to Napa from our home airport, but always a treat to visit. Arriving at Bridgeford flying services, our car met us at the plane to begin our tour.

First stop was Domaine Carneros, which is home not only to some extraordinary Pinot Noir, but also the Tattinger Sparkling wine (methode champagnoise). The best of each tasting flight, in my humble opinion, was the "Famous Gate" Pinot and the "La Reve" Champagne. (The purists will forgive the unauthorized appellation). A stunning 1990's reproduction of a French Chateau houses the main tasting rooms for Domaine Carneros.

Next was the inimitable Opus Winery. More like a bunker than a winery (see the website), it is built into a mound rising to a trellised roof terrace where you can enjoy the selection(s) at $30 for a 4 oz taste, and no, you can't keep the glass.

Literally across the street is the Mondavi Winery. You may know that Opus is a collaboration of the Robert Mondavi and Baron Phillipe de Rothschild, so the location is not surprising. The tours at Mondavi are very informative but it is a large-scale tourist operation and not as clubby as, say, the Girgich winery. Nevertheless, Mondavi is well worth the visit for those on their first tour.

The final stop was lunch at Tra Vigne, probably one of the most famous Italian restaurants in the Napa Valley, and deservedly so. The tree-shaded courtyard was a pleasant setting for lunch.

Potted Pomegranate and Fig trees formed the perimeter of the courtyard, which was centered on a most unusual fountain. At first blush, it looked like any other dining table for two, but curiously with a puddle underneath continuously filled with dripping water from the table above. In reality it was a sculpture fountain which blended in perfectly until your eye settled on something-non-quite-right; the reward for which is pictured here.

The best recommendation, however was for the driver and the company that hires him. Beau Wine tours, and driver John Knapp, responded on short notice (i.e. no notice- we called them an hour before arrival) and were waiting for us at the airport. John made the day just right by knowing where to go and how to get there effortlessly.

Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo

A quick flight north brought us to San Luis Obispo (KSBP), which is a short drive from famous Moro Bay. The "big rock" that makes the Bay famous and a long standing mariner's landmark is actually a volcanic plug that remained once the surrounding softer earth eroded. To my surprise, there are actually a series of 9 of these volcanic sentinels, starting with the one pictured , that lead in a straight line to the city of San Luis Obispo.

I highly recommend the San Luis Jet Center. The rental car was driven right up to the wing and our fuel order was processed quickly. The facility is very comfortable, including a crew room and showers.

Also nearby is Pismo Beach and the Oceano Dunes. The sand rails and 4x4's run wild along miles of huge dunes along the state park. These aren't just your generic beach dunes; you have to watch out for the hidden drops. There are tons of places to rent sand vehicles. Our favorite is here. The dunes are also open to motor homes and other vehicles, but beware of high tide.

Flight Training - Long Island

Just in case you thought I did all my flying in the Southwest, here's a plug for one of the best flight training centers I have seen - in Long Island, no less. The Academy of Aviation at Farmingdale's Republic airport (KFRG) has a wonderful fleet of Garmin 1000 glass cockpit cessnas. After a very pleasant check out with Mike Trzaska, I was off on a picturesque 30 minute flight over Long Island Sound towards Connecticut.

Flying the Glass Cockpit for the first time in my checkout was a concern, but Mike quickly put me at ease by pointing out that the Garmin protocols were very similar to the 530 and 430 with which I was familiar. It was fairly easy to transition, but I found my head inside the cockpit more than out, which is not good. The only saving grace for that was the on-board TIS that pointed out all the traffic I couldn't see in the haze anyway.

Shortly after take off on Runway 19, a downwind departure brought the Northport Stacks into view (the white speck on the north shore of Long Island Sound in the photo). After a short 10 minutes over the water we were "feet dry" on the Connecticut side. The destination airport, Waterbury Oxford (KOXC) is just another 10 minutes north.

Our destination that day was a beautiful spot in Northwestern CT called Bantam Lake. Pictured here is one of the isolated coves. The entire flight was about 28 minutes long, but to drive there from Long Island, over the Whitestone Bridge and up the Hutchinson Parkway (named for Ann Hutchinson b. 1591) would have easily taken two and a half hours. In fact, at around $150 per hour wet, the round trip was less expensive than one night in the hotel in Long Island.

Waterbury Oxford airport is a favored RON for many Part 135 corporate jets and has an ample runway. It is a little prone to morning fog so your take-off might be delayed unless you go in for the zero-zero departure. While I don't fly in CT that much anymore, it was where I learned to "fly floats." I'm not sure its still in operation, but the training base at 42B was exciting. We spent 2 days flying up and down the Connecticut River and adjacent small lakes, never getting more than 500 feet high!

If you get a chance, New England flying is some of the most beautiful in the country.